Readings: Zeph 3:14-18; Isa 12; Phil 4:4-7; Luke 3:10-18
Theme: What then Must We Do?
Gaudete Sunday is an invitation to rejoice because the Lord whom we await is near.
WHAT MUST WE DO?
In today’s gospel, different groups came to John the Baptist, and each asked him “what must we do?” The people were looking for a specific instruction from John, having heard him proclaimed about baptism of repentance (cf Lk 3:3) and warning them about the possible wrath coming (cf Lk 3:7).
For the people to ask, “what must we then do?” after they had listened to John the Baptist means that they accepted that they had not been living up to expectation and that they wished to amend their lives.
“What must we do?” then becomes a cry for help, a search for a way out of bad living, and a demonstration of desire to do better. The period of advent calls us for a sincere repentance and to live a life worthy of receiving the Messiah when he comes.
But unless we accept that we need to do better, and also that we are sometimes helpless, we may not see the need to seek for help and solution. In that life you are living, have you ever asked yourself “is this really what I need to do?”
Above all, placing this question in the spirit of today’s liturgy, the readings of today provide us with wonderful answers.
- Rejoice and be happy always
In the first reading, the prophet Zephaniah calls on Zion, the city of God, to rejoice because the Lord, the King of Israel is in her midst. In the second reading, St. Paul writes to the Church in Philippi and says, “be happy always in the Lord, I repeat, be happy…the Lord is near.” Both readings call on their audience to be happy, not for any other thing but for the fact that the Lord comes. This is also the message of today’s liturgy.
We are all called to be happy, not because all our problems are solved, not because our sickness has vanished, not because the war and hardship, the corruption and abuses in the world have ceased; not because the tension of killings, kidnappings, degeneration of values and injustice in Nigeria have been resolved; but because there is hope and this hope rests on the One who comes, Christ the Lord.
Prophet Zephaniah tells the people that whatever situation they are into, they must be encouraged by the fact that the Lord is in their midst. Yes…beloved sister and brother in Christ, the Lord has not stopped being in our midst. He has not abandoned us.
Even in our difficulties and hardships, we still see the hand of God in our lives. The Lord sees us and moves with us, and as prophet Zephaniah says, “when that day comes” that is, when the time is right for the Lord to cast away all our troubles, he will rise like a victorious warrior.
But till then, we must always console ourselves that the Lord is in our midst and that he sees us. When a child knows that his/her father is with him/her, even when he/she is in deep pain of sickness or struggling with a difficulty, there is an encouragement and a feeling of security. In the same way, our consolation, our encouragement, our happiness, must come from the belief that He who owns us is always with us.
This will remove from us any feeling of fear. As the prophet Zephaniah says, when we accept and recognize the presence of God in our midst, then there will be no more fear of any evil nor need to worry about anything.
- Be happy to share with others
In the gospel reading, John the Baptist responds to the people’s “what must we then do?” by telling them to share even the little things they have with others. The attitude of sharing which John instructs the people is not the one that comes from abundance.
In fact he says, “if one has two tunics, he must share with another who has none, and the one with something to eat must do the same.”(cf Lk 3:11). In responding to the call to be happy, we must recognize that we have the obligation to assist others also to be happy by sharing with them whatever little gift we have been blessed with.
Our happiness must flow into the lives of others. We must derive happiness in sharing, not out of our abundance, but even from the little we have. For each of the groups who came to John the Baptist to know what they had to do, John spoke to them from their different occupations in life. And his instructions to them have to do with what each one of them had to do in order to stop causing pains to others but rather bring happiness to them.
Our holiness, our life as Christian, must also be founded in our occupations in life. As a businessman/woman or as an office man/woman, what am I supposed to do to bring happiness to others?
- The Lord is Near, but he is not John the Baptist
Having waited for the Messiah so much, and then seeing John the Baptist and how he was living, the people could not help but think him to be the Messiah. Reacting to this, John the Baptist did not waste time to declare to them that he is only but a messenger and not even worthy of being the slave of the Messiah nor capable of taking the position of the Messiah, nor of assuming his function and authority.
Many men have risen in our society, and many of us have seen in them “the Messiah they have been waiting for.” Some of these men and women have been lured by the people to accept and to see themselves as the Christ.
The attitude of John the Baptist which shows sincerity and humility in accepting what one is, and in directing people well to the correct source, should be a lesson to such men and women who now see themselves as and occupy the position of “Christ” in the society. Christ is near, in fact, he is in our midst, but he is not John the Baptist and John the Baptist is not the Christ.
As we await the Lord in happiness, may our hope not fail us, nor our spirit become discouraged.
Fr. Henry Chukwuezugo Nnamah
Catholic Diocese of Aguleri